Manchester City will look to put a halt to their dramatic downturn in form when they face Nottingham Forest at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
The Sky Blues’ winless run stretched to seven games on Sunday when crashing to a 2-0 defeat away at Liverpool.
That latest body blow has left Pep Guardiola’s side 11 points off the pace, meaning they now face a massive uphill battle if they are to retain their Premier League crown.
Aiming to avoid what would be an eighth game without a win, City will look to stop the rot with a midweek success over Nottingham Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side snapped a two-game losing run with a narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich on Saturday, justifying my faith to support a low-scoring game.
That triumph has lifted the Tricky Trees up to sixth position in the table, just one point and one place behind their out-of-sorts hosts.
How the bookies view it: City to stop tailspin
The bookmakers’ odds suggest Man City will finally stop the rot on Wednesday night, with a home win chalked up at 1/3 on Kwiff.
Nottingham Forest – who have lost just once away from home in this season’s Premier League – are big outsiders at 8/1 (Kwiff) while the draw is an unfancied 9/2 (Kwiff).
Head to head: History favours the hosts
Man City have emerged victorious from three of their four Premier League meetings with Nottingham Forest across the past two seasons, with the other game ending all square.
It's worth noting that the Citizens have claimed top honours without conceding a goal in their last two home games with the Tricky Trees – a repeat here can be backed at 11/8 (Kwiff)
Players to watch: Haaland to fire against Forest?
While Erling Haaland has struggled in front of goal in the Premier League of late, he looks too big to ignore for anytime strike on Wednesday night at 4/5. The Man City goal machine made the net bulge twice in the Champions League against Feyenoord last midweek.
Chris Wood moved up to nine Premier League goals for the season against Ipswich last time out. The Nottingham Forest striker is as big as 15/4 on Kiwff to notch on Wednesday night.
Predicted line-ups
Jeremy Doku impressed for Man City as a substitute at Anfield on Sunday, so he could be given the nod from the off against Nottingham Forest at the Etihad.
Having started on the bench against Ipswich at the weekend, both Alex Moreno and Nicolas Dominguez could be restored to the Nottingham Forest starting XI on Wednesday night.
Man City: Ortega; Walker, Gvardiol, Akanji, Ake; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva; Foden, Doku, Haaland.
Nottingham Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Dominguez; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Silva; Wood
Anything else catch the eye?
Ryan Yates looks like a prime candidate to commit two or more fouls during this Etihad encounter at 17/20 with UniBet.
The tough-tackling Tricky Trees midfielder is averaging a sizeable 1.62 fouls per-game in the Premier League this season.
Furthermore, the Forest captain has committed multiple fouls in three of his previous four top-flight outings, making a repeat here when he goes up against star-studded City an attractive option.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest will be played on Dec 4, 2024 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
